♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ applause ] >> jon: that brings to a close to our special. we would like to thank everyone at west point especially the west point band to allow us to join in this holiday season. for all of us as fox news, i'm jon scott, >> it is very critical we belief in the fir vin girth.

>> it is a celebration of feasts -- peace, reconciliation in christ. >> jesus was born in a stable not in a palace. >> the birth of jesus is next. >> live from america's news headquarters. merry christmas everyone. the world over is celebrating one of the most joyous days of the year. at the have aed can this grand tradition honoring the birth of christ. pope benedict xvi led christmas mass urged them to find time for god in what he describes as her hectic technology driven lives. this is major square in bethlehem. the top roman catholic cleric

noted this year they are celebrating the birth of palestine. we are now less than one week away from the fiscal cliff deadline that is when spending cuts and tax hikes kick in automatically. law americas plan to return to washington later this week to try to hammer out a last minute deal. fears of an uncertain economy are forcing people to buy fewer gifts. buy stuff made in the usa even if it costs more. >> we have more than doubled in the past year. it is growing like crazy. people are waking up to the made in the usa issue. if we bought more of what we made in our nation we cput a lo of people to work. >> it could make for a dangerous christmas with violent storms and tornadoes may pop up in the

panhandle. it is bringing a white christmas to other folks. 6 feet of snow in california. it hit the east coast overnight and all of the snow could mean headaches for 90 million americans aaa estimates are traveling over the holidays. ♪ >> for 2,000 years christians all over the world celebrated the birth of jesus christ with thankful prayer and joyful song peace on earth goodwill to all is a simple christmas message. it's at the heart of jesus' teaching. welcome to fox news channel special presentation. behind me is bethlehem where

jesus was born. coming up on this program a very special guide will take us on a tour of the church of the nativity: travel village to recreate jesus' life. archeologists tell how they find a fake from a find. why many women are angry about a best selling book they are calling it an assault on christianity's basic belief. first faith and fact what we know about the birth of gees saunsd how we know -- jesus and we know it. >> the books of the old testament in the bible have been in circulation as oral histories for a thousand years for the birth of jesus. they were pulled together as a whole in the second century in the christian era. the stories were passed down and preserved by word of mouth. >> it is one of the great mysteries of church history that

we don't always know exactly how they spread. >> archaeologist jonathan reed and scholars are excavators. >> those writings in the second century this area was written down the sources for the gospels can be dated around the 50s that is nearly 20-years. >> there are no first editions of the gospels the originals were lost, worn out and destroyed. what is there is scraps of papaya in the greek. >> i was surprised when i studied the gospels my professors. >> she wrote a book on the gnostic gospels. >> she be long in a library. they were copied and read by the

monks. the archbishop sent a letter out to the monks and said you can keep 27 of them. the other books that he told them to destroy were hidden. >> the gnostic gospels and their stories about jesus remained hidden for nearly 1600 years. they were discovered by an egyptian farmer digging for fertilizer. over the centuries other streers were written by jesus they were known as the apock federal -- apocryphal gospels. professor of religious studies california state university. >> they believe just like christians do jesus was born to mary who was a virgin. mary is the only woman mentioned by name in the koran. is mentioned more by name in the koran than in the new testament.

>> of the four new testament gospels only two feature the nativity story. the gospel according to luke tells the roman emperor augustus caesar journey from nazareth to bethlehem wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. inhe gospel according to matthew joefs and mary are already living in bethlehem. some details in matthew the star, the maja, massacre of the innocent are not mentioned in luke. en for many the details and the differences in the gospel dos matter. the questions are resolved faith. >> we are evangelical protestants and here we really do believe the christmas story i believe the angel came to mary and angels celebrated christ's birth outside of bethlehem. >> dr. irwin lutz zer is the

senior pastor of the church in chicago. they find 75 percent agree and believe the christmas story is historically accurate. >> the point is, if he's jesus is who he claims to be, the son of god, then he came to prove he was the son of god and to die for us, these miracles become very uniqueable. >> function of a nativity story is to give you a summary form the destiny of this child. >> john dominic clawson believes the gospel writer's motives are not to write list but to make the world of theology. >> when matthew is going to have jesus give a sermon on the mount he is going to model him even as he has been born so moses was almost killed by the evil pharaoh jesus is going to be

almost killed by the evil herod. >> the number one message from roman imperial theology was that the emperor was divine and the emperor had a divine right to rule. >> he takes note of the symbols used through out his empire and how they were received through the new christian religion. >> after julius caesar died haley's come met flew over the skies in rome. augustus claimed that was in fact my father julius caesar it's his soul ascending into heaven. caesar augustus used that star on all of its coin. when you sang the nativity story the real star is in fact over a manger in healle bethlehem and little jewish boy was there. that is a dramatic counter claim

to the message of roman imperial theology. >> i think these details become food for thought. i also agree with the expression that the devil is in the details. >> bernard is pastor and founder of christian cultural center in new york city. >> to me the birth of jesus is the miracle and mystery of the incarnation of god. we are taught to question or taught to treat things, too, but we are taught to never allow these discussions to actake awa face to face. that's what it is. a matter of faith. next, we travel to what was once a humble peasant village jesus' home town of nazaretnaza. we will visit a first century village to see how the carpen r carpenter's family lived. first stories that were banned,

n fascinating and shocking details about jesus, mary and joseph. >> the holy spirit will come upon you. the child to be born will be called holy, the son of god.

this bible changed the world. i'm kirk cameron. four hundred years ago our forefathers risked their lives to bring this bible to the shores of america. because it contained the principals for economic liberty, political liberty and religious freedom. the 1599 geneva bible. it was the first complete english translation, complete with chapters, numbered verses and 300,000 utterly unique study notes. it actually came out before the king james version and because the government didn't authorize it, it was outlawed. but it was a bible by the people,

for the people, the book that built america. and now for the first time in 400 years it's available again in a beautiful leather edition. i have one, i want you to have yours too. please visit genevabible.com and get your copy of this rare and historic version of god's word today. thank you and may god bless you. >> here in nazareth is the traditional sight of the virgin mary's home and the virgin's cave. the gospel according to luke tells us it was here that the miracle of jesus' birth began. the ark angel gabriel told mary she was to be the virgin mother of the son of god. there is nothing else written in the gospels about the lives jesus and his family led in nazareth. with so little information about jesus boy hoods early christians

were curious and to respond ancient authors invented stories to fill the gap. they were known as the apocryphal gospel. >> they were asked to come to the temple and then they left them there overnight and the staff of the gods that was flower then that man would be the husband of mary. of course they were chosen>> father joseph of the st. joseph university in california is a leading historian in the catholic church. christians wondered about the lives of jesus mary and joseph. >> it is a story about a young jesus that was popular and was treated like dime store novels. >> very interesting book

actually is the story . it starts to image what must it be like for god to be a child as it were. in one sense it starts off as den nas the menace so you can see he starts off well really a. >> other stories depicted joseph as a 90-year-old widower with children. her mistakes in woodworking were miraculously repaired by the power of jesus. >> by the end of the story he has power and wisdom under control and he's ready to use it only for good. >> so why are the everyday lives of mary and joseph shoulded in mystery. joseph disappears after the christmas story early christians depicting him as they please. >> joseph is portrayed as an

elderly gentlemen. >> a former jesuit priest teaches to christians muslims and jews. >> joseph is written out of the stories to preserve his virginity, not only virgin conception of jesus but mary continued to be the virgin after the birth of jesus which means you can't have brothers and sisters. >> the gospels according to matthew and mark clearly mention jesus as having brothers and sisters. some church bodies it's not an issue. after the virgin birth mary and joseph had a conventional family. professor peters say roman catholic wrestles. >> that word brothers is problematic in the likelihood of dog ma driving interpretation again. they add the greek word which the primary meaning is brothers. anybody looking at that text can see are these not the brothers

of jesus? >> the apocryphal gospels tried to clear up the mystery by presenting the brothers and sisters children of mary and joseph from a catholic marriage. >> it is the belief of the church mary remained a virgin after the birth of jesus. the doctrine of mary's perpetual virginity the brothers and sisters refer to do the gospel it is their cousins. >> that's pie et driving the interpretation so they understand this. >> questions about joseph's age and brothers verses cousin's debate created a dilemma over the virgin birth. >> i think it is critical can he believe we believe in the virgin birth. >> in the early church the primary concern is really on

jesus divine origin and on the virgnal conception of the birth. >> when you look at the gospel story especially the christmas story there's a concerted effort to make jesus competitive with the other deity. >> jonathan reed uses parallels in the story of jesus virgin birth and that of caesar augustus. >> you have a set of stories about caesar augustus who was proclaimed divine because his mother left with apolin. in the gospel stories you have the virgin birth to compete with that. >> there are some scholars who want to deny the virgin birth. they swakd go into paganism and find towns of miraculous births. you often have the gods having sex with a woman. that's reprehensible. jesus was born in a stable when caesar was in a palace running the world. the contrast in other words is

set up immediately. >> when you read the gospel it is clear that the gospels are not written to record history. they are trying to tell a story in such a way that is believable, that is acceptable, that is enticing. >> when we come to the new testament we have a decision to make. are we going to accept it as it is written or are we going to miracles that ares to on the pages? >> stay with us for more on the birth of jesus. ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it. olaf gets great rewards for his small business! pizza! [ garth ] olaf's small busins earns 2% cash back on every purchase, ery day! helium delivery.

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>> it is more important in world history than any one might have thought. here now a look at the day and life of nazareth at the time of jesus. >> modern day nazareth is predominantly an arab city. today you hardly know this as a place jesus grew up. but right in the secenter of to is a small village built to show what time was like for christ.

>> there was no middle class. you either lived very, very well like the people in jerusalem or as sur yaw or you lived like most people as a peasant existen existence. >> the curator for antiquities authority. he spent the last 40 years investigating ancient life in the holy land. >> most of the people made their living off of things we see before the sheep, the goat, olive trees, the vineyard. >> growing up in nazareth jesus probably had daily chores to help their parents. >> kids didn't go to school. for a young boy you have been up at the crack of dawn probably with the sheep and goat. if you weren't out with the sheep and goats you were working in the harvest. people worked from sun up to sundown. >> in the first century the closest thing to a modern convenience was this.

>> here we see an olive press. they are a very important part of the economy. in in this had to be pretty high-tech. >> as high press as the olive press was low tech easily describes the others. >> this is the wine press. >> once the grapes were picked they were brought to this turning vat. they were simply tread upon. >> as we know from reading the old testament wine was a popular beverage. >> the juice descended by gravity they put it into storage jars and it was stored and made into wine. >> they were very self sufficient. >> that is the same affair for peasants. they make their own pottery and carpentry. >> as a carpenter by braid

joseph and apprentice jesus would have used some of these tools. >> this is something that is us used. >> a brush. -- crushed. >> chick pees had to pea's had crushed. you take something like this give it a nice smooth edge to it. the process which was used. these are the drills of antiquity. >> the cordless drill. >> it does have a cord i guess. that was how poles were made for the carp per back in antic rit. here we so some of the implements in the carpenter shot. nice wooden bowl probably last

forever, certainly passed from generation to generation. >> house keeping and cooking must have been a real challenge them. >> these places had to be swept all of the time. you don't want vermin around here. >> what do we have here? this is how butter was made. this is simply animal skin. what happens is the milk is placed in here. what it is is a butter churn. very, very effective. you have a kid here and his jab is to swing it back and forth. in an hour or so you have butter. >> inside this dwelling is a first century version of this old mous-- house. >> the food was prepared in the kitchen and the floors were beaten or a little plaster small wooden stables something to sit on. it doesn't rain here for nine months and during those three months when it rains december, january, february you have to collect as much water as you possibly can.

what this is they are collecting the runoff. the water is coming down on the hillside this is a catch system all of the water filters down to the bottom here and the clean water simply overflows and goes into the house. the water is taken from this well and placed in these receptacles through out the area for cleaning vegetables prior to food preparation. >> these are the types of things jesus would have used. these things are made out of ceramic. >> and for basic refrigeration. >> what they have done is stake enthe soft limestone carved it out made it into a storage facility. very soft, very easy to work. it is very, very prk cal particularly during the summer months when it is so hot. these places are very, very cool. >> so in jesus' day this would

have been a typical room. >> these are the typical paths that connected village to village, house to house. during the winter very difficult. the romans had over 80,000 miles of paved road. >> nazareth didn't get one of those? >> nazareth didn't have one probably until centuries and sen tour res lart. >> life in the first century obviously wasn't easy. the trip from nazareth to bethlehem takes a couple hours by car. mary and joseph would have needed a week or more on the road. a special tour of bethlehem. plus you will be amazed at some of the archaeological finds we dig up. you will find why a bette selling book has religious leaders worried. the lathes headlines from the fox news death. -- fox news desk. drive safe. k. love you. [ chirping, buzzing continues ]

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>> people may get an unwelcome christmas gift. rough weather could be on the way from east texas to north florida. further north they are under a winter storm warning with freezing rain, sleet and snow. pope benedict xvi led christmas eve mass and urged people around the globe to find time for god in what he describes as our busy technology driven lives. in florida a very merry christmas for the family of john hammar. the former marine is back home after months in a mexican jail. he was locked up for intering mexico with an antique gun. >> i got him in the car and i thanked the u.s. consulate guys and we took off and made a b line to san pedro island and spent the night there.

johnny got up in the morning and walked to the beach and watched the sun come up. >> people in up state new york are remembering two firefighters who were fatally shot yesterday. impromptu memorial vigil last night 100 people showed up some holding candles. an ex-convict set a home a blaze and opened fire when firefighters arrived killing two and wound it would go others before taking his own life. now back to the birth of jesus. >> welcome back to our special presentation. i am john scott. archeologists dig and sift the

earth looking for artifact that is teach them about life in the past. they have yet to find something inscribed it was jesus' cup or jesus leslept here. there have been significant finds, the problem is there have also been incredible fakes. >> a cage belonging to john the baptist or burial box that once held the bones of jesus' brothers. they startled archaeological and religious communities but are they real? today the cave are viewed with more skepticism. in part because there's a long history of forging artifacts from the holy land. >> deep in the basement of israeli antiquity a story out of the radars of the lost arkansas logical treasures and bogus archaeological trash. >> has inscriptions going all of

the way around it. it is it is a jumble of letters it means nothing. nothing whatsoever. >> these fakes were meant to be sold to unsuspecting tourists. other elaborate techniques to made to fool professionals. >> this de cantor was the iron age it goes back approximately 3,000 years. what will a forger do? they will put an inscription on this. >> inscriptions add great value to an item. >> they will add a name or two to it and it is $2 million. >> you see inscriptions on some of the most prized mind.>> this is one of the more remarkable finds the inscription mentioning the emperor tiberius.

>> this inscription was found purely by chance. archeologists turned over a large slap reused as a seat in the theater and there it was. >> the irony here is the guy who presided over the trial of jesus, the only inscription combaering his name winds up as a theater seat people were sitting on it. >> that is one of the ironies of history they say vanity of vanity. >> what is this? >> this is the os weahs wear ree high priest he said better one man should die better than one man suffer. >> his bones ended up in this box? >> yes. >> pontius pilot and ciaphus inscriptions are authentic but name alone doesn't prove a thing. >> we have two os wear res the first one says judah son of jesus. the other one says jesus son of joseph.

>> nothing relating, though, to the jesus of nazareth in the new testament. >> no way whatsoever. these are very common names which you find recurring again and again. >> not long ago one was found inscribed jameson of joseph the brother of jesus. with those three new testament names on it some at first thought it had to be authentic. >> i think there is no doubt. >> he was part of the forensic team called in to aut then tate it. closer examination show the inscription was forged. >> you think the inscription is a fake? >> we found out the inscription was freshly cut. cause add police investigation. >> other inscriptions were found in a cave outside jerusalem. the archaeologist who excavate the the site claims it was used by john the baptist. >> i don't believe that there is

any connection between this cave which is a worship certainty with john the baptist. >> he is deputy director of israeli antiquities authorities. there are faces on the wall and a cross on the wall. >> they went there this drawing can be found every where in israel and every where in the world. >> he also took me to a well-known site in jerusalem. absalom's tomb he was famous for trying to over throw his father. >> this is amazing. how did they build this? >> as you can see it was built out of solid bedrock about 2,000 years ago. >> jesus would have seen this? >> jesus would have seen this prior to his crucifixion. for hundreds of years now people

believe this is absalom's stone. they stone it. muslims christians and jews for hundreds of years this has been a jerusalem tradition. >> essure stone throwers had it wrong. proof shows it's not absalom but people close to jesus life who were buried here. >> if he found an inscription this is the home of zach car why yous the martyr the father of john. >> who is the john in this context? >> john the baptist. the inscription is in greek and dated properly no lart than 350 ash ad. >> after that the oldest inscription ever found. part of the verse from the nativity story of luke about simeon the old man who held the baby jesus. >> you have seen the inscription. in fact you discovered them. how do you know they are authentic. >> good question. we are living in an age of forgeries. the inscription which were there

almost 30 feet in the air. it's impossible to forge something like that today. >> a forger would want to forge something he can sell and you cannot sell something this big. >> there's no way again it has been up there for the last almost 1700 years, and it will always be there. like absalom's tomb christianity survived a variety of assaults. these days it's a best selling book that has many people angry and upset. ♪ fare thee well ♪ farewell ♪ mr. gloom be on your way ♪ ♪ though you haven't any money you can still be bright and sunny ♪ ♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪

♪ hah >> a woman's name has been ven rated for centuries. mary magdelene.

her life in jesus's life has been at the certainty of debate more than ever. >> the da vinci code is the idea that leonardo da vinci was a member of a group that knew jesus was actually married to mary magdelene but because of the pressure of the church they had to communicate it in code because now one could come out and actually say it. >> pastor irwin luster is author of the book the da vinci deception. >> dan brown's book is a direct assault against the christian faith. the reason is because it attacks the two doctrines that are most important to christianity. the liability of the old testament and deity of jesus christ. as a result of what he has done people are reading it and believing it. >> one way dan brown hooks his readers is by weaving in

historic fact. finds more how catholic church smeared mary magdelene by labelling her a prostitute. >> dan brown in his novel comes and says no she wasn't a prostitute she was jesus lover and wife. in each case there are sexual roles. i am not a theologian. it's a fiction thriller. what is the problem with that? >> dan brown says everything within it is accurate. so this has caused a tremendous amount of confusion. the book says when leonardo painted his last supp sit to go the right of jesus is not john the apostle as the historians believed for centuries rather than sitting to the right of jesus is mary magdelene. then there is no cup on the table there is no shallot.

darbepoetin chal lis. >> there are major clues that mary magdelene was not only the apostle but the head of the church. >> i happen to see john through leonardo's eyes not mary's in that painting. for example look at his painting of john the baptist. you see the painting of john the baptist has a face you would think is a woman's face. the body which is partly naked is clearly a man's body. it seems to me that's the kind of men leonardo liked. >> dan brown also bases his carnal theory about jesus and mary magdelene in what was ancient texts known as the gnostic gospel. >> i was told as we all were they couldn't be the real gospels they had to be bad go gospels bafake gospels. in one of the books the gospel of phillip is in the heart of the controversy. >> the gospel of phillip had the

following order. the companion was mary hagged lynn. kissed her often and then the text breaks and you never know. the text goes on to say the other disciples were some what jealous they said why do you love her more than all of us? >> is this account reliable? the gnostic gospel of phillip was actually written in syria in 250 ad. that is 200 years after the time of jesus. dan brown says he kissed her often on the face. >> the gospel of phillip does not suggest an actual sexual relationship it suggested a symbolic relationship between jesus and his church or jesus and the holy spirit. i don't have a conspiracy theory view of why the tech is broken. it is very old and when you touch it it fragments. there are many breaks in the text.

this is only one, one of the most provocative. >> mary magdelene was the major apostle in the first century. he was on the level of peter and thomas. >> the idea that jesus christ had children with mary and they became part of the french royal line that is placed on legends that go back to french back to the 9th century. it is not a new idea but it has virtually no historical basis whatever. there is good food and junk food and good finks and junk fiction. the da vinci is junk fiction. >> now let's join gregg palkot to talk about how the da vinci code has helped tourism. >> part of the book is here and the action begins at the museum with the murder of the curator and the paintings hint at among

other things mary magdelene's more prominent role. >> it is more interesting about mary magdelene as her role as an early leader. >> one of several conducted here is led by art expert mcqueen. >> history is something that is based on original documentation something that dan brown play as little fast and lose with in a the book. >> there are a lot of inconsistencies as do others. they have a sinister 666 plates of glass. according to the louver museum that should read 673. >> that's nothing like the unholy uproar of paris's sons of church. it features religious artifacts plus astronomical line. more of dan brown's tail. michelle spends much of his day

correcting the false hoods with a less than divine image of jesus christ. >> if you believe what is in the book and they are quite surprised to discover at least what it says about this church. >> up next bethlehem takes a look at the town and the church of the nativity.

>> we are on a hillside over looking what was a little town when jesus was born there. bethlehem is under palestinian control because of the violence of the last few years visitors are staying away even at christmas. >> in all of the holy land heal bethlehem is considered one of the hole list places by christians jews and muslims. jews come here to pray at rachel's tomb judaism's third holiest site. rachel was the beloved wife of jacob the third patriarch she died in child birth. muslims also reveer bethlehem. they believe the prophet mohammed stopped here escorted by gabriel on a midnight ride to visit the birth place of jesus.

>> of course for christians bethlehem the city of king david is the birth place of jesus christ. >> you can see how it attracts people from all over the world because this is the birth of the savior not just of an important historical figure. >> father jerome murphy o'connor served in israel for 40 years he took us on the tour of the church of nativity along side major square. he has seen many changes. >> where have all of the christians gone? >> they are afraid to come. >> they are afraid of all of the turmoil and fighting that has plagued this area. >> this bethlehem used to be 100 percent christian. now it stands only above 35. >> i talked with people who used to wait in line for hours to get into the church of the nativity. now it looks like you can walk right in. >> absolutely. the door we will be going

through. >> so this is the traditional birth place of jesus? >> this is the traditional birth place. there is very little doubt about the city and for us the probability about 85 percent that the church is actually built over the right place. we have two different versions one in luke where mary and joseph start from nazareth and matthew where mary and joseph are native of bethlehem. that's why jesus is born here. i say most scholars matthew's account is preferable. >> didn't luke give the more detailed account. >> more detailed more vivid more dramatic but the benefit accounts for the census which forces a man and his very pregnant wife to move through the country. i don't accept that census because this was not part of the roman empire and the census was

for the empire. >> the new testament talks about a stable. that's not to say that it couldn't have been a cave. >> many stables are inside caves. the representation of a cave is much more accurate. >> jesus was born here because the bible says there was no room for them at the inn. >> you should image a small humble house a one-room house. >> the question of where the birth occurs settles around a group word translated as inn. some translated as family home large extended family where space was tight. either way mary would have gone out to the cave or stable. local tradition held this as ji jesus' birth place. helena the mother of the emperor c constantine built the first church here. it was restored in 529 ad and enhanced later on by the crusaders. >> i have also heard the idea behind the door was to make

people bow down. >> be humble. >> not impossible by any means. >> once inside this ancient building visitors see a sight drastically different from the humble stable of the bible. greek orthodox main altar. >> very around nate. >> extremely around nate. you see the choir for the most. this is where literally every sunday every day in fact. >> the original church was an octagon built over the cave. it is now below the altar in the grot el of the nativity. father o'connor took us there. >> there are two altars this is the brothel of the nativity scene. if you put your hand through the whole you can touch. on this side this is the altar

of the manger. >> even in this paceful place there are long running disputes. the altar of the manger belongs to the monks the other alter in greek orthodox. the other christian groups is the arameanian orthodox. >> there is splits every where. >> exactly. that is give to go the holy man. >> the belief is that this is where jesus was born? >> yes. >> and then he was carried over here to the manger. >> exactly. >> then you see this is the cave which of course has been shaped but this wall is artificial. next door is the holy tirn face. >> father murphy o'connor took us there for a look. >> there is very little evidence of the original cave left here. >> whatever is original is down below us here. >> tradition has it christ would

have been born on the other side of the cave but this is part of the same cave system. >> it is all part of the cave system. that is an entirely artificial wall it goes taupe the roof of the cave. you can see the bedrock all above it. this is the area that has been excavated. >> the excavation early 1960s turned up evidence that it was occupied during the time of david right up to the time of jesus. >> there was traces of guns and broken pottery and coins it was used for stabling and storage. >> so this would be a wonderful place to shutter a flock or store grain after the summer perfectly no risk of camp. and for a young woman giving birth no draft.

>> a trip to the holy land is as much a journey of emotion as it is of distance. after the birth of christ there is so much sadness here. the little town where the baby was wrapped in swaddling clothes now itself is wrapped in bashed wire. where the shepherd he is stood guard over their sheep there are guard towers now and gun towing soldiers. it is possible to look past today's troubles a historic sight through the bible inspires all to walk the streets where jesus walked gaze on the landscape to touch the stones that were standing passed by brings a profound sense of wonder. from the holy land and all of the fox news, i am john scott. have a blessed christmas.

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